Saint Lucia and 22 Other Tourism Destinations Blacklisted by US CDC

• The US-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has added Saint Lucia and 22 other countries to its highest warning Level 4 list, making them countries to avoid visiting because of rising cases of COVID-19. The CDC advises that Level 4 countries should be avoided, and that persons who insist on traveling to those countries must be fully vaccinated. This development will likely deter short-term travel and undermine the recovery in the country’s tourism sector. 
• The arrival of the Omicron variant has increased the perceived risk of travel to several countries. Many countries paused travel from several African countries after the Omicron variant was discovered, resulting in damaging effects to the tourism sector in a dozen nations in the region. 
• Heavily tourism-dependent Saint Lucia and other Caribbean nations, added to the “No Go” list for American travellers, are doing their best to keep cruise ships and flights coming, while implementing tough safety standards, including medical declarations covering COVID conditions of all passengers and crew, 24-hours before arrival. 
• Ships have been prevented from entering and docking in Port Castries, where there are known cases of unacceptable levels of Covid infections on board. However, while acknowledging that such news is “bad for the industry”, the cruise lines and Caribbean tourism officials have been cooperating to their mutual benefits. The number of cruise ships calling into Saint Lucia continues unabated since the Level 4 travel warnings by the CDC.

 (Sources: St. Lucia News Online & NCBCM Research)